There are many products designed to assist caregivers with infants and young children. One (1) of the most common and useful is the children's stroller that carries the child while the caregiver operates the stroller. Conventional strollers are designed for use with newborns up to children five (5) years or older; the stroller does a great job of enabling the caregiver to take the child along for various outings without being required to constantly carry the child. The stroller also prevents the child from wandering off during shopping trips, at amusement parks, or anywhere the parent or care provider typically walks. However, the stroller must still be moved around by the caregiver. Although seemingly an easy task, when one considers the weight of the child, child care items, blankets, extra clothes, food, and the like that is typically transported on a stroller the easy task of pushing the stroller can become quite daunting, especially over long periods of time or distances. Additionally, strollers are often pushed up very steep inclines and are pushed all day long on an almost daily basis; it is easy to see how pushing a stroller alone can tire the caregiver out.
Various attempts have been made in the past to overcome these disadvantages and provide a means for personal pushed transporting devices having motorized push assistance. One (1) solution is the attachment of a motorized add-on to the frame and wheel assemblies of conventional strollers. While drive assembly add-ons can provide a means of push assistance to a stroller they have distinct disadvantages as well. Many use mounting mechanism which can be inconvenient to apply or require regular inspection to ensure proper mounting is maintained. The controller mechanisms may also require mounting or comprise tethered switches which can become cumbersome to keep up with. Many add-ons simply engage the wheels of the strollers, frictionally driving them which can be inefficient in inclement weather. Others only engage a single wheel which can lead to unstable or uneven propulsion. Larger axially driven devices can disturb the weight proportions of the stroller making it less stable and creating a dangerous situation for the child passenger. Among the relevant attempts to address these problems are several U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,629,950; 5,494,126; 5,937,961; 6,148,942; 6,983,813; and 7,198,122.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,425, issued in the name of Yang, describes a motorized stroller with rear wheel drive assembly comprising a motor and gear housing that is mounted to a rear wheel support rod of the stroller and a roller which makes contact with the tire portion of a rear wheel transporting the rotational motion of the motor to that of the wheel and a tethered control unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,836, issued in the name of Milano, Jr. et al., describes an add-on drive assembly for baby strollers and carriages comprising a motorized chassis attached to the rear axle of a stroller and a pair of drive wheels which engage the walking surface replacing the rear wheels of the stroller.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which mechanical assistance can be provided to a user of a stroller when needed and the physical effort required to move a stroller can be reduced. The development of the invention herein described fulfills this need.